


Happy Hour

by EllieandJoel4ever



Series: The Little Rascal [5]
Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Adult Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-11 04:38:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11706966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieandJoel4ever/pseuds/EllieandJoel4ever
Summary: Joel doesn't come home after Wall duty on his Birthday. A slightly perturbed Ellie sets out to find him. She does; at the local tavern, where Ellie proceeds to have one drink too many. In Ellie's case...that's two drinks. Part 5 of my 'The Little Rascal' Series. COMPLETE.





	Happy Hour

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts), [peppermint_smile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/peppermint_smile/gifts), [raffinit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raffinit/gifts).



> This is the 5th story in my "The Little Rascal" series. I hope that you enjoy reading it. Thank you for doing so! =)

**_Happy Hour_ **

by Justin -  _EllieandJoel4ever_

**Jackson WY**

Ellie was  _pissed_. Completely and utterly  _PISSED_.

The first thing Joel ALWAYS did before he did anything else when he got home in the evenings would be to give Ellie a great big bear hug. Huggin' Ellie was soothing therapy for Joel after a long monotonous day and it always made Ellie's day when he'd fly through the front door, search her out with a few yelled  _'Ellie!'_  s and when he'd found her he'd grab her, hug her hard and long and gently say into her hair, "Hey, baby girl. Missed ya...".

Those words are sweet music to Ellie's ears. And the hugs are always soothing to her soul. Because of them; she knows he'd never leave her. And she would never leave him.

But Joel was late and he ALWAYS rushed right home after his shift; so something was up.

Ellie had worked her usual morning shift at the stables with Burt and had come home a little early to fix one of Joel's favorite meals; meatloaf and mashed potatoes. She hoped it would be a nice surprise for the grumpy old fart. She was proud that she had cooked a meal and she was eager to share it with him. She'd worked hard on the meal and she'd thought she'd done a pretty good job of it. She was definitely dying to see what Joel thought about it. The kitchen looked like hell, but she thought the food tasted pretty decent. Today is Joel's birthday and she'd done it all for him.

But Ellie was pissed. For once, she had wanted to give him a surprise for his birthday and he had ruined it. She didn't even know if he was safe; which scared the hell out of her  _FAR_  worse than being pissed at him. Was he in danger? Or even exponentially worse than that; was he injured?

 _'You just wait till I find you, you old fart!'_ , Ellie thought with her teeth gritted together and a scowl on her face. _'If you ain't dead, you're gonna WISH you were when I'm finished with ya!'_ , she thought as she stormed out the front door to look for him.

Joel had always told her, without fail, where he would be or what he would be doing if they were going to be apart and she always did the same for him. They always knew where the other was and what they were doing. It was an unwritten rule between them and neither of them had broken it...until today.

For some reason  _today_ , of all days, Joel had broken that rule and Ellie was bound and determined to find out where he was and what the fuck he was doing. And then she was gonna wring his  _everluvin_  neck.

 _'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,'_  Ellie thought.  _'There's gonna be hell to pay tonight dumbass; birthday or not!'_  But in the back of her mind, she was worried sick.

She found him in the first place she'd looked.

Joel had stopped by the tavern on the way home to have a couple of shots of homemade whiskey. He knew it was his birthday, but it was also the anniversary of Sarah's death. The constant pain over Sarah's death had subsided over the past 22 years and even more so with Ellie's help. But for some reason unknown to him, today was a little more painful than the years past. So he'd seeked out comfort with a little 'liquid courage' before he headed on home to be with his Ellie.

His big mistake though was that he'd decided not to stop by their house and tell Ellie first. He had figured he'd only be a half hour or so and then he'd head right home. Not even enough time for her to really miss him or even worry too much. He was wrong on both parts. It had been over 2 hours since the end of his shift on the wall.

Ellie saw Joel the instant she stormed through the front door of the tavern. He's a big man and he's hard to miss, especially for Ellie. She knows Joel so well now she can instantly spot him in a crowd. He was sitting on a bar stool up by the bar and Cyrus, the bartender, was pouring some moonshine in a shot glass for him.

Ellie walked up and punched him hard on the shoulder, jarring him from his somber thoughts.

"Where the fuck have you been and _what in the fucking hell_ have you been doing, Joel!? GODDAMNIT!"

 _'Oh shit!'_ , Joel thought, and with wide eyes and a nervous chuckle he said, "Oh...Hey, baby girl! I just stopped by here to have a couple of drinks before I came home."

"Joel, you and I both know you hardly ever drink. What the fuck!?"

"I'm just a little melancholy today, squirt. I'm sorry."

"Do you even realize what time it is, old man?", she said to him with a scowl.

"Um... honestly baby girl, I don't," Joel said with worry in his eyes.

"It's almost fucking 7:30, Joel!"

"It is?", Joel said with honest shock on his face. He hadn't realized it was actually  _that_  late.

"I'm sorry, Ellie. I didn't know it was that late. I guess I just got lost in my thoughts and didn't realize how much time had passed."

"Well, you  _better_  be sorry, old man."

"I am, baby girl. I'm  _real_  sorry. You forgive me?"

"Pffft...I guess. Better not happen again though. Or I'm gonna start a WHOLE 'nother apocalypse on your ass if it does. Git me?", Ellie said with a half smile, half scowl as she poked him in the chest.

"Got it, Boss," Joel said with a wry smile. He'd dodged a hell of a bullet and he knew it. And Ellie's a crack shot.

"What the hell are you drinkin' anyway, old man?"

"It's what they use to call 'White Lightnin', squirt."

"What the fuck is that?"

"It's homemade whiskey, Ellie."

"What does it taste like?", Ellie said as she reached for the shot glass and took a big sip.

" _WHOA_  now, baby girl! That ain't beer."

"Oh paaalease, old man! I can handl" -  _COUGH-HACK-SPUTTER-COUGH!_  - ... "Holly crap, Joel! That shit tastes like fuckin' gasoline!"

"Told ya it wasn't beer, Ellie."

"How the hell do you drink this shit, Joel?", Ellie said as she downed the final sip left in the bottom of the shot glass. She squeezed her eyes shut and shuttered as it burned all the way down her throat.

 _'Huh... not tooo bad once you get past the burn,'_  Ellie thought.  _'Warms my tummy too.'_

She turned the shot glass upside down and slammed it onto the bar. "BARKEEP! 'Nother round!"

"Now Ellie... you better slow down. You know how drunk you got last Christmas when you kept sneakin' sips outta my beer bottle when you  _thought_  I wasn't lookin'. By the way, why didn't you get your own back then? You knew I didn't mind it at the time if you had  _one_  beer, squirt."

"Cause' yours tasted better, old man."

Joel rolled his eyes. "Cute, Ellie."

Cyrus came over and before he turned the shot glass back over to fill it, he looked at Joel with curious eyes as if to say  _'You sure Joel? You remember last Christmas don't you?'_. Joel just shrugged his shoulders as if to say  _'I ain't stoppin' her. She's still kinda pissed! But don't worry Cyrus; I got her.'_

So Cyrus filled the shot glass and Ellie downed it in a couple of sips. She winced as it slowly burned her throat and warmed her tummy on the way down.

"Ya know what old man? This stuff ain't too bad once you require the taste."

"Acquire, Ellie. It's  _acquire_  the taste."

"What ever old - ol...... um, Joel?"

"What Ellie?"

"What the fuck is it that I call you?  _With_  offect... with affor.... with love, of course!"

"I believe you call me 'old man'... and it's with affection, squirt."

"Yeah! That's it! Um............ what the fuck were we talking about?"

Joel chuckled and shook his head. She was going to pay for this in the morning for sure. But she was still a little pissed and even 'Big Mean Ole Joel' wasn't about to try and stop her and then have to endure the little squirt's wrath. Besides, he wouldn’t let her have too many and hurt herself.

Ellie slammed the empty shot glass back down on the countertop and said, "Filler up, Serious!"

"It's Cyrus, Ellie," Cyrus said.

"That's what I said Cyprus! Now filler up, damnit!"

Cyrus looked over at Joel - who just nodded his consent - and then looked back at Ellie and rolled his eyes as he poured her another shot.

Ellie downed the whole shot with one gulp this time and slammed the empty glass back onto the countertop.

"Nother un Cyll... Cypr.... bartender!"

She looked over at Joel and frowned.

"Joel! Sit still, damnit! Quit movin around like that... somethin' wrong with you? You got worms in your pants or somethin', Joel?" Joel was just sitting there as still as a big ole tree trunk watchin' Ellie.

"It's 'ants in your pants', Ellie."

"That's what I said, Joelsy!" Joel's eyebrows shot up.  _'Where in the hell did THAT come from?'_ , he thought.  _'Joelsy.'_  He chuckled to himself and shook his head.

She threw her hands up in the air. "Jesus! Doesn't anybody listen to me when I'm tryin to tell them sumthin' anymore!?"

She turned to look at Joel again. "I'm pa...I'm pis...I ain't happy with you, old man!"

"I know, squirt. Will ya tell me  _why_  you're so angry with me?"

"I can't remember at the mo... mom... I can't remember right now. But just beaer... bor... just hang in there with me and I'll eventually figure it out, okay? Oh... and don't go anywhere for a minute Joelsy. Stay riiiight there.... don't... fuckin'.... moooooove," Ellie said and Joel rolled his eyes.

Ellie turned away from Joel and yelled over at Cyrus -  _or whatever the fuck his name is_  - to come over and re-fill her shot glass.

Joel put his hand on Ellie's shoulder to gently tell her that she'd had enough.

Ellie jolted back around quickly and with anger in her voice she yelled, "HEY! Get your hands off me, you asshole!" as she harshly shook Joel's hand off her shoulder. Her vision was slightly blurred at the moment from the alcohol.

She glared at him and when she finally broke eye contact with him to angrily look around she yelled, "JOEL! _Goddamnit!_ Where the fuck are you!"

She swiveled around on the barstool, frantically looking for Joel and when she'd come clean back around the full 360 degrees to face him again she was shocked and happy to see him. Her vision had cleared back up a bit.

" _THERE_  you are Joelsy! Where the fu...where the fak....where the hell you bin?! Oh man, Joelsy! There was this guy who just put his hand on my shoulder and I didn't like it and if you'd been here you coulda beat the shit outta him for me but I woulda' done it myself but I think I'm too ineb..inhebr...I think I'm too drunk!" Then she took a breath. "Still coulda taken the fucker though, even though there was two of em'. I think they were twins."

Joel shook his head and chuckled to himself. But he decided that rather than try to explain it to her that she was seeing double because she was drunk, he'd play along with her so he wouldn't hurt her feelings. Or piss her off more and get his ass kicked by her in the process.

"What did he... I mean... what did  _they_  look like, squirt?"

"Big UGLY lookin' fuckers, Joelsy! Both of them looked like two tons of shit in a one ton container. Creepy lookin' fuckers! Never seen 'em before. But they kinda looked fami... kinda looked fumi... I thought I recognized one of em' though. If I see 'em again, I'll point 'em out to ya."

Joel just crossed his right arm over his chest, closed his eyes, lowered his head, pinched the bridge of his nose with his left hand and shook his head. _'She's gonna be the death of me. If I don't wring her neck first... the little twirp,'_  he thought.

Finally he chuckled and looked up. "You do that, squirt."

"Barten.... Barke.... HEY SERIOUS! Hit me again!", Ellie yelled at Cyrus.

"Now Ellie, you've had enough," Joel said. "You're already gonna regret this in the mornin'. Lets go on home, kiddo."

"Now DAMNIT, Joelsy... don't pi... pes... don't make me angry! You  _know_  I can whoop your ass! I've done it litraily and figeratly you know!"

"Literally and figuratively, Ellie."

"Damnit, Joelsy! That's what I said! Why do you keep repeating me? You a tarot card or something?... _Jeez!"_

"You mean Parrot, Ellie?"

"Goddamnit, Joelsy! That's what I said... what the fucks sake is wrong with you?! Anyway................ what was I sayin', Joelsy?"

"You were reminding me that you could whip my ass, kiddo."

"Oh yeah...You remember that time on our front porch when I whipped your ass after the Pinball game Joelsy?  _HmmmMMM_?"

"Bowling, Ellie. It was after you beat me at Bowling. And yes, I remember when you smacked my ass on the front porch,  _RIGHT IN FRONT OF TOMMY AND MARIA_ , I might add! Hurt like hell. How could I forget that?"

"Thaaat's right, Joelsy. And don't you for...don't you frog...you better remember it from now on Joelsy, GOT IT?!"

Joel rolled his eyes. "Yes, ma’am."

" _Daaaamn_  right, old man."

"Let's head home, squirt. You've had enough for today."

"HEY!  _I'm_  tha Boss here, old man. We'll head home when I'm _damn good'n ready."_

"You ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"'Sides, I gotta get you home before you pass out on me, old man. I ain't carryin' your big old dumb ass all the way home, you know," Ellie continued.

"Riiiiight, Ellie. Thanks."

"You're wel... you welc... No problem, Joelsy."

Ellie grabbed Joel by the hand and yank/staggered toward the front door of the tavern. About half way there, she saw Houser throwing darts over at the dartboard.

"Hey, ya Howsby!"

"It's Houser, Ellie."

"Goddamnit, that's what I said! What the hell's wrong with everyone tonight!?"

She turned to look at Joel. "Hey Joelsy. Lets play a quick game of darts 'for we head home, 'kay?"

"I don't know, Ellie. You ain't in the best shape to be throwin’ darts."

" _What'sa matter Joelsy, hmmmmMMM?_ 'Fraid I'm gonna whoo.... fraid’ I'm gonna whlp.... fraid’ I'm gonna beat your ass at darts again?"

Joel rolled his eyes and ran his right hand through his hair.  _'Damn she's cute as hell when she's drunk. But she's gonna be the death of me for DAMN sure.'_  And then he chuckled.

"Alright, squirt. One quick game. One dart apiece and closest to the bullseye wins."

"You're on, _CHAMP!"_

"I think you mean 'CHUMP', Ellie. But anyway, if I win, we head home."

"Okeedoekee, Joelsy... and if I win, we head home." She jerked her hand up in front of herself; palm outward. "NOW  _don't_ argue with me Joelsy! I mean it! If I win, we go home," Ellie said as she sternly looked at Joel and shook her finger at him.

"Oh, alright, squirt. I guess if you win, we can go home," Joel said with a shake of his head and a chuckle.

" _Damn right,_ old man... 'cause I'm the bo... I'm the bus... 'cause I'm in charge!"

Joel let out a snort and stepped up to the line and threw his dart.  _THWACK!_ The dart landed just outside the black outer ring of the bullseye. A big improvement over the last time he and Ellie had played darts. Joel folded his arms over his chest and looked at Ellie with a smug smile.

"Not bad, Joelsy... Now step back and watch a mast.... watch a mus... watch a pro at work!"

Ellie staggered up to the line to throw her dart; almost falling over a chair in the process.  _"Goddamnit..."_ , she muttered to herself. She didn't see Joel behind her frantically waving his hands above his head trying to get Houser's attention--who was standing down by the dartboard watching the show--to try to motion to him to  _'get the hell outta the way!'_  so he didn't get hit with a dart. Houser wasn't looking at Joel though; he was watching Ellie and snickering to himself.  _'This is gonna be good,'_  he thought.

Joel finally gave up trying to get Houser's attention and re-focused on Ellie. He had to grab her and point her in the right direction towards the dartboard or she would have thrown the dart almost completely in the opposite direction over towards Cyrus standing behind the bar.

When he'd finally gotten her lined up in the right direction, Ellie wound herself up and threw the dart; almost falling over in doing so. Houser had to dive headfirst over the bar counter to keep from getting hit in the shoulder with her dart.

_THWACK!_

The dart stuck in the wall over by the bathroom door about twelve feet from the dartboard and about a foot above Buckley's head - who was lying' on the floor chewing on his favorite bone. He let out a yelp, tucked his tail between his legs, ran behind the bar counter and jumped into Houser's lap - who was still sittin' on the floor in shock.

"I know, boy. Scared tha shit outta me too," Houser said as he held and petted a nervous Buckley to calm BOTH of their nerves.

" ** _BOOOOSH!!"_** , Ellie yelled and tried to pump her fist but lost her balance. Joel had to grab her arm to keep her from falling over. She stuck her tongue out at him, but she was too woozy and wasn't quite sure her tongue had  _actually_  came out. So when she tried to check to see if her tongue was out with her finger, she poked herself in the eye instead.

"Ow... _Goddamnit_...", Ellie mumbled. Joel chuckled a little, so she flipped him off too.

She regained her composure and remembered that she'd wanted to gloat a little more.

" _Told ya, Joelsy!_ I win! You  _still_  suck at darts! Now lets head home... _LOSER!_ No argru...no argum...no bitchin' now, Joelsy. _I won_. We're goin' home!"

Joel just chuckled and held his hands up defensively in defeat. "No argument from me, boss. You won. We head home."

" _Damn right_ we head home! Now lets go, damnit. No dillydal... no delidaly... no more waistin' time!.......... Wait........ where do we live?"

"Don't worry, squirt, we'll get there eventually."

"We better. I know how you hate to ask for directions," she said with a wink.

Ellie grabbed Joel's hand and they started to head out the door of the tavern when all of a sudden she stopped dead in her tracks and stood there; wide eyed and swaying back and forth.

"Holy shit, Joel!... EARTHQUAKE!"

Joel quickly slapped his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. He was almost successful, but didn't manage to stifle the snort that escaped between his fingers.

He quickly regained his composure and reached out to steady her so she wouldn't fall over and hurt herself. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug as he looked down at her.

"Uh... yeah. Earthquake. Scary huh?... Here, I gotcha," he said.

Ellie looked up at him with a cheeky contented smile. Her eyes were glassy.  _'Holy shit.'_  Joel thought.  _'She's drunk as hell... she's really gonna pay for this in the morning... poor little squirt. Bless her heart.'_

When Ellie's woozy eyes finally focused on Joel, she swore in her mind that he was still swaying back and forth.

"Fuck'n hell, Joelsy.... you're  _drUUuunk!"_

Ellie wrapped her arms around Joel's waste, squeezed him tightly into a hug and looked up at him with a cheeky grin.

"Here, I gotcha," she said.

Joel ruffled her hair with his right hand.

"Thanks, squirt," he said with a smile.

"No problem, old man. You really gotta get back on the cart, Joelsy. You can't hold your liquor."

" _On the wagon,_  squirt. It's 'get back on the wagon'."

"That's what I said Joelsy! Jeez... We gotta get Doc to check your ears. You're probably gonna need new glasses."

Joel chuckled. "Sure thing, boss."

Then they both staggered out the tavern door holding each other up. One having a lot easier time doing it than the other.

About half way home Joel had decided to carry her the rest of the way. She had been stumbling, bumping into him and tripping over her own feet and his the whole way. She looked pretty tired too. So he leaned over and put his arms around her shoulders and under her legs at the knees, picked her up and cradled her into his arms.

Ellie wormed herself around a little to get comfortable and then nestled her head into Joel's chest and closed her eyes. She purred like a kitten, so Joel new she was content and comfortable.

He stumbled a couple of times after a few steps jostling Ellie a bit.

"Joelsy..."

"What, kiddo?"

"Pull over. You're too  _drunk_  to drive. Gimme the keys. I'll take over from here."

"We're almost home, baby girl. I'll make it."

"'Kay... But if we get pulled over...let me do the talkin'."

"Sure thing, boss," Joel said and chuckled to himself, making sure Ellie didn't notice.

Ellie let out a soft contented sigh and within a few seconds she was sleeping comfortably in his arms.

Joel slowed his pace and walked lightly, being careful with each step so he wouldn't wake her. After a couple of blocks Ellie stirred in his arms.

"Joel..."

"What, Ellie?"

Ellie looked up from Joel's chest. Her eyes were watery and she looked worried, Joel thought. When she spoke, her words were clear and not in any way slurred or affected by the alcohol. It was almost as though the unbreakable love she has for the big man wouldn't allow it.

"I know why you were drinking tonight."

"'Cause it's my birthday, squirt?"

"No, you big dummy," she said with a giggle and then became serious again.

She hesitated, then said, "It's the night you lost Sarah."

Joel sighed sadly. "Yes... yes it is, baby girl."

"I'm sorry, Joel."

"I know you are, Ellie. Believe me, I know."

"Joel..."

"What, squirt?"

"I love you. You know that, right?"

Joel stopped walking. He looked down into those beautiful wet green eyes looking up at him, leaned his head over a little and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I know you do. And I love you too, baby girl. More than anything in the World. More than life itself. Always will."

Ellie sniffled a little, smiled contentedly, closed her tear filled eyes and nestled her head back into Joel’s chest with a warm sigh.

After a few more steps, Joel said, "You know what, squirt?.... You really are somethin' else."

" _Damn right_  I am, old man."

"Humble too," Joel said with a snicker and Ellie, with her eyes still closed, stuck her tongue out at him. He chuckled to himself.

As he walked along towards home with Ellie tucked in his arms and sleeping contentedly, all he could think was, _'I'm the luckiest guy in the whole damn World. What on Earth did I do to deserve you, baby girl?'_

When they'd finally made it home, Ellie was still asleep and snoring lightly in Joel's arms. So as quietly and easily as he could, he somehow managed to get through the front door with Ellie still cradled in his arms and headed straight up the stairs to her room. He laid her on her bed, pulled her converse's off and tucked her in; pulling the bed sheet up over her chest to keep her warm.

"Sleep tight, you little teetotaler."

When he went back downstairs to the kitchen to grab something to eat, he saw why Ellie was so upset when he didn't come straight home after his shift on the wall. She'd made a big birthday dinner for him - and Ellie doesn't cook. So she'd went to a lot of trouble to do it.

 _'Goddamnit. You're such an ass, Joelsy.'_  He chuckled to himself when he thought of Ellie's drunken nickname for him.  

Ellie wasn't a cook by ANY measure. Joel always told her jokingly that whenever she cooked they couldn't have string laying around in the house or the mice would hang themselves. She knew he was only kidding of course. But she also knew that she wasn't Julia Child in the kitchen either. So, she'd let his jokes about her cooking slide. Joel was the cook in the family and she knew it.

But Ellie had gone out of her way to make him a Birthday supper tonight and he'd ruined it by not coming straight home. He felt terrible. He'd make  _damn sure_  to make it up to her tomorrow.

He warmed himself up a plate of Ellie's meatloaf and mashed potatoes and ate his supper.

 _'Hmmm...ain't to bad. She's getting better at this,'_  Joel thought.  _'Kitchen still looks like a smoke bomb and one of Bill's nail bombs went off in it at the same time, though.'_

After he'd finished his Birthday supper, he cleaned the kitchen up, did the dishes and then went upstairs to check on Ellie.

When he carefully opened the door to her room to peek in on her, she was snoring so loud it sounded like someone was tryin' to start a chainsaw with no gas in it. Joel smiled and chuckled to himself.  _'And she says that I'm the one that snores too loud,'_  he thought.

He went to his room and grabbed a pillow and a blanket and headed back to Ellie's room. He would sleep in her room tonight so he could keep an eye on her. He carefully tiptoed into her room and laid the blanket onto the floor beside her bed to give himself some comfort on the hard wood floor. He laid down on his left side facing toward Ellie. He tucked the pillow under his head and looked up at her with a smile and a warm tender feeling in his heart. He loves his baby girl. She's a hellcat; no doubt about it... but she's  _his_  hellcat.

"Night, baby girl," Joel softly said and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Joel woke up early and moved over to her chair in the corner of the room to read one of Ellie's 'Savage Starlight' comics. He didn't have a shift on the wall or any hunting planned for today and it was Ellie's day off - so he would wait by her side until she woke up. He knew that when she finally  _did_  wake up, she was going to have  _one-HELL-of-a_ hangover, so he wanted to be there for her.

About 10:30 a.m., Ellie started to stir. So Joel put the comic down and waited patiently for her to open her eyes.

She opened her eyes slowly and leaned up in her bed resting her weight on her elbows. She brought her right hand up, held her forehead because her head ached and squinted her eyes looking around the room. She finally focused on Joel sitting over in her corner chair. He was leaned over with his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped together and lookin' at her with a smile.

"Morning, baby girl."

"Morning Joel... _Jeez_  ... did you hit me on the head with one of your baseball bats last night, old man? My head feels like two tons of shit in a one ton container...... wait, where have I heard that before?"

Joel let out a chuckle remembering Ellie's description of him  _and his twin_  last night at the tavern when she was  _'over her limit'_.

"Ain't sure, squirt. But whoever said it is a pretty damn smart little cookie," he said and winked at her.

Ellie looked over to her right and noticed Joel's makeshift bed on the floor.

"Wait, you slept in here with me last night?"

"Yep."

"Oh shit...I got drunk, didn't I."

"Yep."

"Fuck... How many people were killed?... Quick, grab your shit. I'll get my backpack and we'll hit the road before Maria sends a posse out after us," she said with a sigh.

Joel chuckled. "Nobody got hurt, squirt. Houser and Buckley won't be going near the dartboard anytime soon, but other than that, the cleanup after  _'Hurricane Ellie'_  is gonna be surprisingly light for a change," he said with a wry smile.

"Cute, Joel." She stuck her tongue out at him. He happily returned the favor.

"So... you slept in here with me last night so that you could keep an eye on me. Didn'tcha, old man?", she continued.

"Yep. It's my job, baby girl."

"Awwww... You know what, Joel... for a big mean ol' grizzly bear with anger issues and a dual personality, you're pretty sweet when you wanna be. Aren'tcha?", Ellie said with a bright smile.

"Only when it comes to you, baby girl, only when it comes to you," Joel said and winked at her again.

Joel got up from the chair and headed out of Ellie's room and down the stairs to go to the kitchen. "I'll be right back, squirt," he said as he left the room.

He'd snuck downstairs about a half-hour earlier to put a big plate of Ellie's meatloaf and mashed potatoes in the oven to warm up for her. He knew she'd be hungry as hell when she woke up. His baby girl is  _ALWAYS_  hungry.

She could scarf down twice the food Joel could eat in one sitting and do it in half the time. It always made Joel chuckle and smile to himself when he watched her eat.

 _'Where does she put all that shit?'_ , he would think to himself.  _'And when's she gonna come up for air!?'_

But, try as he might, he couldn't get Ellie to quit talking with her mouth full of food. It sounded like a foreign language to everybody else. But Joel was so use to it now, he could understand every word she said - no matter how muffled it sounded. He teased her that he told everybody that he knew two languages now - English and whatever Ellie said with her mouth full of food. Well, that and a little Spanish too - him being from Texas.

"Hey Joel!", Ellie yelled from upstairs in her room.

"What, kiddo?!"

"I'm hungry as  _FUCK!"_

 _'No shit... there's a shocker,'_  Joel thought.

"I'm one step ahead of ya, squirt!"

"Well, then hurry it _the fuck up,_ old man!"

"Be right up, your Highness!"

"Toot-sweet, old man! Or, off with your head!"

Joel chuckled to himself.

_'She's gonna be the death of me. If I don't wring her little neck first,'_ he thought. 

He turned to head upstairs with Ellie's warm brunch.

'Service with a smile.' Even from  _Big Grumpy Old Joel_.

 ** _Anything_** for his baby girl.


End file.
